Transcript SLAED Presentation Welfare Reform, Employability and

National Delivery Group
Welfare Reform: Challenges for
Employability Partnerships
Andrew Noble
Improvement Service
Tuesday 18th June 2013
Atlantic Quay Glasgow
Introduction- Summary
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Welfare Reform- main changes
Purpose of Welfare Reform
Welfare Reform- financial impact
Welfare Reform and Employability
Focus on Universal Credit
Conditionality for Universal Credit
Welfare Reform challenges for Employability
Partnerships
Welfare Reform- the main changestimescale
• 2011
– Benefits up-rated in line with CPI rather than RPI
– Local Housing Allowance changes
• 2012
– Child Benefit rates frozen for 3 years
– Reduction to 70% childcare costs claimed through tax credits
– Contributory ESA limited to 1 year
– Lone Parents moved from IS to JSA earlier.
• 2013
– Universal Credit introduced
– Successor arrangements to CTB and Social Fund introduced – Council Tax
Reduction Scheme and Scottish Welfare Fund
– New under-occupancy rules in socially rented sector
– Benefit Cap introduced
– Personal Independence Payment introduced (replacing DLA)
– 1% annual uprating of all benefits for 3 years
Purpose of Welfare Reform
• UK Government’s case for Welfare Reform
hinges on employment:
• “you will always be better off in work”
• “making work pay”
• Introduction of Universal Credit central to this
objective
Welfare Reform- Financial Impact of
Welfare Reforms to 2014/15
Benefit Area
No. h’holds/indivduals
affected
Estimated loss £m p.a.
Incapacity Benefits
144,000
500
Tax Credits
372,000
300
1% uprating
n.a.
290
Child Benefit
621,000
225
DLA
55,000
165
Local Housing Allowance
80,000
80
Under occupancy
80,000
50
Non-dependent reductions
28,000
30
Benefit Cap
2600
15
Total
1,660
Welfare Reform- Financial Impact of Welfare Reforms
to 2014/15
Benefit Type
Incapacity Benefit
Average loss per
affected
household/
individual (£ p.a)
No. Of Households/ Loss per working
Individuals affected age adult (£p.a.)
per 10,000
3,480
410
145
Tax Credits
810
1,600
85
1% Uprating
n.a
n.a
85
Child Benefit
360
2,660
65
DLA
3,000
160
50
Local Housing
Allowance
1,010
340
25
620
340
15
Non-Dependant
reductions
1,130
120
10
Benefit Cap
4,810
10
<5
Under occupancy
Total
480
Shetland islands
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeen
East Dunbartonshire
Orkney islands
East Renfrewshire
Moray
Stirling
Perth and Kinross
Eilean Siar
Scottish Borders
Edinburgh
Highland
Angus
East Lothian
Argyll and Bute
Falkirk
Midlothian
Fife
Dumfries and Galloway
West Lothian
South Ayrshire
South Lanarkshire
Renfrewshire
East Ayrshire
Clackmannanshire
North Lanarkshire
North Ayrshire
West Dunbartonshire
Dundee
Inverclyde
Glasgow
Overall impact of welfare reform on Scotland by
2014/15 by local authority area
Estimated loss £m p.a.
300
250
200
150
100
Estimated loss £m p.a.
50
0
Glasgow
Inverclyde
Dundee
West Dunbartonshire
North Ayrshire
North Lanarkshire
Clackmannanshire
East Ayrshire
Renfrewshire
South Lanarkshire
South Ayrshire
West Lothian
Dumfries and Galloway
Fife
Midlothian
Falkirk
Argyll and Bute
East Lothian
Angus
Highland
Edinburgh
Scottish Borders
Eilean Siar
Perth and Kinross
Stirling
Moray
East Renfrewshire
Orkney islands
East Dunbartonshire
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
Shetland islands
Overall financial impact of welfare reform on Scotland
by 2014/15 by local authority area
Loss per working age adult £ p.a
700
600
500
400
300
200
Loss per working age adult £ p.a
100
0
Welfare Reform and Employability
• Age- Older age group 30-50s
• Gender- marginally more men than women
claiming UC related benefits
• Duration of Claim- majority of non JSA claims, 2
years plus, many 5 years plus
• Barriers to employment- childcare and transport
as well as multiple and/or complex needs
• What happens to those who return from the
Work Programme?
Focus on Universal Credit
• Universal Credit (UC) brings together 6 existing benefits
into a single monthly payment:
• JSA
• IS
• ESA
• Housing Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Unemployed and working claimants
• UC is a household rather than individual benefit
Conditionality for Universal Credit
• Applicants for Universal Credit are required to sign a Claimant
Commitment- a record of the responsibilities the claimant has made in
return for receiving Universal Credit
• Claimant Commitment applies to those in work and receiving UC, who are
identified as “could work more”, i.e. Those in part time low paid
employment; the “under-employed” amongst them.
• Expectation that preparing for and getting a job is the “full time focus” of
the UC claimant.
• Claimants not being able to demonstrate this will face a sanction, i.e. cut
to their UC.
• This means that people in employment will seek support to develop their
skills, access training/ further education and progress in the labour market
as result of their Claimant Commitment- further increasing demand for a
range of employability services
WR: Challenges for Employability Partnerships (1)
• Range of challenges for Employability Partnerships arising from WR (e.g.
Potential major increase in demand for Employability services; different
mix of clients / needs; demands of conditionality etc.)
• Resource implications (scale / doing more things / doing different things)?
• Ensuring appropriate linkages to other relevant services (Money Advice,
Welfare Rights, etc – including emerging Local Support Services
framework) whilst avoiding ‘revolving doors’
• WR ‘incentivising work’ is premised on jobs being available. Linkages to
demand side / Strengthening integration with wider Economic
Development
WR: Challenges for Employability Partnerships (2)
• Reduced incomes within local economies
• Scope to influence focus of next round of EU funding
• Local Govt. has major role to play in employability – and shared statutory
partner role re SOA priorities.
• Where does potential ‘crisis management’ around WR leave prevention /
early intervention agenda?
• Do Councils / CPPs have genuinely joined-up approach to Economic
Outcomes?
• What more can public sector do re. maximising economic impact?
Group Discussion
1.
Where Partnerships are in context of Welfare Reform employability
challenges
2.
Emerging issues / themes?
3.
Consideration of the scale of potential additional demand- availability of
suitable provision?
4.
New demand versus current priorities and focus?
5.
What kind of support do Partnerships require?
Andrew Noble
Welfare Reform Implementation
Support Programme
[email protected]
knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/group/welfarereformscotland